Adjustable school desk and seat.



No. 688,267. Patanted Dec. 3, I90l.

J. M. SAUDER, Decd. E. L. SAUDER, Administratrix.

ADJUSTABLE SCHOOL DESK AND SEAT.

( Application filed Dec. 81, 1897.)

(No Model.)

2 .Sheets$heat I.

ATTORNEYS.

No. 688,267. Patented Dec. 3, lam.-

' J. m. SAUDEB, own. E. L. SAUDER, Adminisiratrix. ADJUSTABLE SCHOOLDESK AND SEAT.

(No Model.) (Application filed Dec. :31, 1897.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

i WW/W00 Jo/712 JZ Sander ATTORNEYS.

WITNESSES.

STATES PATENT FFICE.

JOHN MILLER SAUDER, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA; EXPERIENCE L. SAUDERADMINISTRATRIX OF SAID JOHN MILLER SAUDER, DECEASED.

ADJUSTABLE SCHOOL DESK AND SEAT.

SPEGIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 688,267, dated December3, 1901.

Application filed December 31, 1897. Serial No. 664,864. (No model.)

To all whom. it may concern.-

Be it known that I,JOHN MILLER SAUDER,Of Philadelphia, in the county ofPhiladelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and ImprovedAdjustable School Desk and Seat, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention is an improvement in the class of school desks and seatswhich are adj ustable vertically to accommodate pupils of differentheights. As to one of its more important features it is an improvementin that particular class of desks and seats which are provided withlongitudinally-slotted standards made in one continuous piece andpinions, racks, and nuts for adjusting the desks and seats propervertically and for locking them in any adjustment from either side ofdesk or seat. I have simplified and reduced the number of partsheretofore required to efiect such adjustment, have made a new andbetter arrangement of the same,and produced a mechanism capable of amore easy and speedy adjustment.

Another important feature is the construction of the deskstandards,whereby they occupy less floor-space and furnish a support for thechair-seat in front of the desk.

These and other features are hereinafter described with the necessarydetail.

In the accompanying drawings, (two sheets,) Figure 1 is a side elevationof my improved desk and seat supports. Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail sideView of a portion of one of the standards and brackets. Fig. 3 is anenlarged perspective View of some of the parts used for clamping thestandards to the desk and adj usting the latter. Fig. 4, Sheet 2, is ahorizontal section on line 4 4 of Fig.1. Fig. 5 is an enlargedhorizontal section on line 5 5 of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is an enlargedsectional side View of a portion on line 6 6 of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a sideView of a modified form of stand ard having no connection with a seat.Fig. 8 is a cross-section on line 8 8 of Fig. 7.

The two legs or standards 1 1 are separate from the desk proper, 2. Theshelf 3 of the latter is secured between side brackets 4 and all firmlyconnected. Each leg or standard 1 is in one continuous length from floorto side or end of book-box and is provided in its upper portion with alengthwise slot 5 and on the inner side, Fig. 6, with an integral rack6, which is adjacent and parallel to said slot. Each standard 1 isfurther provided with one or more, preferably two, lengthwise ribs 7,which are parallel and arranged on opposite sides of the slot 5 andadapted to fit and work in corresponding grooves 8, Figs. 2 and 5,formed in the inner side of the pendent wings 9 of the brackets 4. Theribs 7 are conical or wedge shaped and made Wider than the grooves 8, sothat the ribs will wedge or fit closely into the grooves under allcircumstances without contact with the bottoms of the grooves, and thusinsure a rigid connection between the standards and desk proper.

The means for clamping the slotted ends of the standards 1 and l to thebrackets 4 are a tube or rod 10 and the nuts 11, applied to the latterand screwing against Washers 12, interposed between them and the outersides of the standards. The said washers 12 have a spline connection 13with the tube 10, so that they must rotate together. i

It is apparent that by rotating either nut 11 in one direction thestandards 1 will be clamped tightly upon the brackets 4 and the desk 2thus held firmly and rigidlysupported between them, and by rotatingeither nut in the opposite direction the clamp will be released, and thedesk 2 may then be adjusted higher or lower, as required. It will beunderstood that this operation is rendered practicable by reason of thefact that when a nut 11 is thus rotated the other and opposite nut willremain fixed on the tube 10 because its washer 12 prevents frictionbetween the nut and the adjacent standard. Hence practically it is onlynecessary to operate one nut 11 to clamp the desk 2 between thestandards 1 or to release the same. The nuts 11 are preferably made inthe form of truncated ribbed cones having an axial bore, and a suitablewrench is provided for the same.

The means for vertical adjustment of the desk 2 on the standards 1 arethe pinions 14, Figs. 3 and 6, which engage the aforesaid racks 6, asshown. Such pinions have a spline connection 15 with the tube 10 androtate with it. It is therefore obvious that by rotating the tube 10 thepinions 14 will travel up or down the racks 6 and carry the desk 2higher or lower, as desired. As a means for thus rotating the tube 10 Iemploy a crank- Wrench 15, having a slotted end-16, which is adapted toenter either end of the tube 10 and engage a cross-pin 17 thereon. Whilethis is the simplest form of construction, it is obvious the wrenchmight be adapted to enter a polygonal or other irregular socketformed inthe ends of-thetube. In any case the essential feature is the adaptationof the wrench forinsertion through the nuts 11 and for operationindependently of the nutwrench or simultaneously therewith, as required.It is apparent that one of the nuts .11 must be turned to clamp the desk2 directly an adjustment of the desk has been effected by rotating thetube 10 and rackpinions 14.

It will be noted as an important feature of my invention that thestandards being slotted at their upper ends the clamping-tube 10 will belocated directly beneath the bookshelf 3 of the desk, and hence thespace heneath the shelf is left entirely free for unobstructed movementof the pupils legs as well as for use of a broom or mop for cleaningpurposes. It will be further noted that the slotted ends of thestandards 1 overlap the sides of the desk proper and that they maintainsuch relation whether the desk be adjusted higher orlower.

The feet 18 of the main body of the standards l are extended a littlerearward; but the front portions or legs 1 are extended forward and alsocurved inward toward each other and are provided near their ends withdownwardly and forwardly extending feet 19, as shown in Figs. 1, 4, and7. The branches or arms 1 of such converging portions 1 are clamped uponthe flat standard 21, to which a chair-seat 22 is secured. Suchchair-standard 21 may be adjustably and otherwise connected with thebranches or arms l by means of a threaded tube, nuts,

pinion, and rack, as in the case of the standards 1 and desk 2, beforedescribed, or any other suitable means of adjustment may be adopted.

It will be seen that by arranging the front legs and feet of thestandards convergently, as shown, less floor-space is occupied, andthereby the standards are firmly braced from the floor in alldirectionsthat is to say, against movement or displacement of the deskby pressure applied on any side.

In Figs. 7 and 8 I illustrate a simple form of standard 1 ,whichembodies the same prin ciple of construction and arrangement of branchlegs 22, the latter being extended forward and curved inward, so as tooccupy less floor-space and be out of the way, while affording a Veryfirm and rigid brace from the floor.

It will be noted that the standards 1 and their slots are inclinedrearward, so that as the desk is raised or lowered it will be carriedfarther from or brought nearer to the pupil, and thus made toaccommodate its position to his size, but can be made from a vertical toany direct inclination.

I desire it understood that while I prefer to make the ends of the deskor book-box proper of metal open-work, as shown for simplicity ofconstruction and compactness in shipment in knockdown shape, I may usewooden ends in place thereof and attach pendent metal brackets to thelower edge and side of the same to serve as bearings for the tube or rodand also to contain the grooves necessary for engagement with theribs ofthe standards.

In adjustable desks as heretofore made wooden ends were employed to formthe bookbox and the standards were made in two pieces sliding againsteach other and connected by bolts near the center of the lap or splice,the upper part of the standard being secured to the under side of thebook-shelf, which in that case always required a thickness of one-inchstock lumber, so as to hold the screws. Their standards being made intwo parts or pieces, it was impracticable to use a connecting-rod forraising the desk uniformly at both ends by gear, since the rod passingfrom one standard to the other halfway between floor and desk wouldalways be in the way of the legs of the pupil and also in the way forsweeping and cleaning the floors. I have overcome these serious defectsand obj ections by making the upper sliding part the end of the book-boxand making the standard in one continuous or unbroken piece,with a slotat the extreme upper end, thereby enabling me to give an adjustment tothe desk the full depth of the book-box. The standards sliding up anddown by the side or ends of the book-box, the connecting tube or rodmaybe placed entirely out of the way and at the same time assist inclamping together, and thereby strengthening, the book-box, alwayskeeping the book-shelf locked firmly and securely in place, and at thesame time producing the simplest and easiest method of adjustment,avoiding the necessity of passing from one side of the desk to the otherto release a nut or two on each side independent of the other and thenback and forth again to tighten up the same when at last properlyadjusted. In my adjustment there is no reason for disturbing the pupilin the least. The operator can pass up and down any aisle and adjust tworows of desks from the same aisle without any interference with theschool routine.

A tube has advantages in that it is stiffer than a rod of like weight inrotating for raising or lowering the desk and also makes it easier toform a crank attachment for adj usting the desk. With a rod or bolt thedesk can readily be raised or lowered by hand by raising or lowering oneend, the opposite end being obliged to follow on a parallel or levelline. By making the standards in one con- IIG tinuous piece and narrowinstead of broad more space is afforded for the pupil getting in andout.

What I claim is- 1. The combination with a desk-body provided withdepending side brackets having vertical grooves in their outer faces, ofstandards having slotted upper end and provided with racks at one sideof the slots and with tongues on their inner faces working in thegrooves of the brackets, a tube journaled in the brackets directlybeneath the desk-body and having its ends screw-threaded and projectingthrough the slots of the standards, nuts on the ends of the tube,pinions splined to the tube and arranged on the inner side of thestandards, and washers also splined to the tube and arranged between thenuts and standards, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the desk or seat, having brackets with internalgrooves, of standards slotted as specified, and having one or moretruncated or flattened ribs, which are adapted to wedge in such grooves,and the 4. An adjusting mechanism for furniture comprising standardsformed with a rack, and a slot; a shaft provided with a socket at itsend; the'ends of said shaft projecting through said slot and beingscrew-threaded on the exterior, to receive clamping means; pinions onsaid shaft adapted to engage said racks; and said clamping means.

JOHN MILLER SAUDER. Witnesses:

E. L. SAUDER, CHAS. K. WESTBROOK.

